


One Ring

by hhertzof



Category: Sarah Jane Adventures, Warehouse 13
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-25
Updated: 2012-12-25
Packaged: 2017-11-22 08:51:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/608016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hhertzof/pseuds/hhertzof
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Claudia and Steve trace an artifact to Bannerman Road.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Ring

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tptigger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tptigger/gifts).



> Set at some vague point when all was happy at the Warehouse and before Sky showed up on SJA.

They had tracked the ring from Bangladesh to Mozambique to Ealing and both Steve and Claudia were starting to feel not only annoyed, but jetlagged too.

"Bannerman Road. Should be just around the next corner. Why do I know that name?" Claudia asked, as she studied the map. "And they drive on the left here. Watch out, Jinxy!"

Steve slammed on the breaks. School had just let out and streams of uniformed kids were spilling out on to the sidewalks. "Shouldn't you call Artie and update him about our whereabouts?" He asked.

Claudia pointedly ignored him. She was quarreling with Artie about something she hadn't seen fit to elaborate on, but it was making their job even more difficult than usual. Especially since his Farnsworth had been damaged beyond repair within an hour after they'd landed in Bangladesh. She wouldn't speak to Artie and she wouldn't let him use her Farnsworth to speak to Artie. He'd broken down in the Mozambique airport, found a pay phone that still worked and reversed the charges to the Warehouse. Artie had growled at him about the expense and hung up, not even giving him a chance to report.

He found a spot to park and turned off the car. Like in so many of their cases, they'd ended up in a normal suburban neighborhood. Odds were they'd track the artifact to a normal looking house, like the one across the street and the normal people living there wouldn't have a clue what they were getting themselves into. 

A brilliant flash of unearthly pink light caused Claudia to yell, "Over there, Jinks!" and then they were running down the street, Teslas in hand.

* * *

Clyde and Rani turned the corner at a dead run, only to find themselves face to face with two people who looked utterly normal except for the futuristic weapons in their hands.

The woman shouted, "Freeze!" in English, but that didn't mean anything. Sometimes it seemed like all the aliens they met spoke English.

They froze anyway, not wanting to find out what kind of horrible damage those weapons could cause.

"We come in peace?" Clyde offered dubiously, holding out his hands to show they he was unarmed.

Rani held up her hands too. "You don't need to do this."

"Where's the artifact?" the woman demanded.

"Claudia," the man said. "Don't scare them. Have strange things been happening around here recently.

"No stranger than normal," Rani said. "Just your average, typical day, being held at blaster point by aliens."

Clyde wasn't sure being honest was such a good idea, but before he could catch Rani from saying more, he spotted Sarah Jane coming up the street.

Something in his face must have alerted Claudia because she spun around so that her weapon was pointed directly at Sarah Jane. "Where's the artifact?" she repeated.

Sarah Jane looked furious. Clyde spotted the sonic lipstick in her hand just before she used it. "I wouldn't bother. Both your Teslas have dead batteries now. Now if you can stop harassing Clyde and Rani and tell me what you _possibly_ hoped to accomplish here, we might be able to work together."

How did the woman know about Teslas? Steve holstered his now useless weapon and pulled out a badge. "Steve Jinks, ATF."

That got an eye roll from Sarah Jane, "A US agent on British soil. Oh, don't worry, _Jinxy_ I know who you are. How was the flight from Unaville?"

For some reason this caused both of them to wince.

Finally Steve said, "Marrakesh. We've been tracking an artifact and we think it ended up somewhere around here." Okay, she knew about the Warehouse. That didn't necessarily mean she was an enemy.

"And Artie didn't call me." Sarah Jane looked disappointed in Artie, whoever he was. "One would think he didn't appreciate the Christmas boxes I send him."

That got even Claudia to relent, despite her bad mood. Presumably she'd unpacked some of those boxes. "I knew I knew Bannerman Road from somewhere. You're Sarah Jane Smith." She turned to Steve. "She's got an entire aisle in the Warehouse."

Clyde could almost hear the capital W. "So what are you looking for? Maybe we can help." If Sarah Jane knew them, it had to be okay.

"This, I'd imagine." Sarah Jane held up a small, static free bag. "A ring belonging to J.R.R. Tolkien. Bit annoying, but I bagged it before it could do massive damage." She dangled the bag there for a moment before relenting. "Give me your Farnsworth and I'll give you the artifact."

"Go ahead, Claudia, give it to her," Jinks said. "She's not speaking to Artie." He explained to Sarah Jane. 

"I don't blame her," Sarah replied. "I wouldn't be either. We had a deal, you see. He was supposed to keep his agents out of my way and in return, I send him whatever artifacts I'm done with."

"Why?" Claudia asked, making no move to turn over the Farnsworth.

"Because I have neither the interest nor the intention of following in H.G. Wells' path," Sarah Jane said easily.

"The author?" Rani asked?

"She was an author, yes," Sarah Jane replied, though she didn't elaborate. "The Farnsworth?"

Clyde didn't understand what Sarah Jane had said to make Claudia change her mind, but the other woman gave Sarah Jane what looked like an old tin box.

Sarah Jane flipped it open and a voice came out.

"Claudia, what is going on there?" Artie sounded angry. Steve didn't blame him.

"Not Claudia," Sarah Jane said. "Hello, Artie. Long time no see.

"Sarah. What are you doing with Claudia's Farnsworth?"

"Another one of Artie's crushes," Claudia whispered to Steve.

"Sure sounds like it," he replied. "She doesn't sound too thrilled with him right now.

"Your agents came looking for an artifact on my street. I thought we had an agreement," Sarah Jane was saying into the Farnsworth. "Just because I'm no longer working for the Warehouse doesn't mean I want to be tripping over your agents." Artie started blustering incoherently, and Sarah Jane just held the Farnsworth and waited for him to finish. "As long as we're clear on this. Next time I go to Mrs Frederic."

Both Steve and Claudia winced at this, but Sarah Jane was already closing the Farnsworth and handing it back to Claudia, along with the bag. "Sorry, I was snappish. There was an incident about ten years ago where agents tracked an artifact to my flat. It didn't end well. Next time call first."

Clyde wondered what she meant by that, but knew it was unlikely he'd ever get the story out of her. There were some stories Sarah Jane refused to tell.

"It was good to meet you," Claudia bubbled. "I'm a big fan. I don't suppose I can see your workshop."

"Not this time," Sarah Jane answered. "But we will probably see each other again. Mrs. Frederic and I have been talking. And Jane Latimer has made an offer I might not be able to refuse."

No wonder Sarah Jane acted like she had the right to call the shots. The Regents were still short a few members and she clearly had the experience. Steve reached out and shook her hand. "It was good meeting you."

"And you too. Don't tell Artie, but I've been very impressed with his recent choice of agents."

Clyde laughed with the others. "Thanks for not shooting us."

Steve looked at him startled. "It's a stun gun. Not pleasant, but not deadly either."

"Good to know for the next time," Rani said.

"There won't be a next time," Sarah Jane said firmly. "Will there?"

"We'll call first," Claudia offered.

Sarah Jane nodded her head, agreeing to the compromise and Steve breathed a sigh of relief. They'd had much worse resolutions to an artifact hunt. "We should hit the airport," he told Claudia.

"Back to Unaville," she agreed. "This time remember what side of the road you're driving on."

Once they'd left. Clyde turned to Sarah Jane and dared to ask, "The Warehouse?"

"Warehouse 13. Technology created on Earth that Earth isn't ready for. Not everything we deal with is alien, so I send them a Christmas box every year, of the stuff I don't need any more that isn't safe to leave hanging around. I also send a Christmas box to UNIT some years. You didn't think I sent it all to Oxfam, did you?"

Rani laughed, and after a minute Clyde did too. No, Oxfam wouldn't be a safe place for Sarah Jane's cast-offs.


End file.
